Middle Eastern money raised questions about Paramount's WBD bid — but that's not why Netflix won

Tech Insider : Politics, Business
David Ellison with a purple background
Paramount CEO David Ellison wanted to use $24 billion of funding from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi to help fund his bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi want to put billions into Paramount/WBD. Why?

Tech Insider : Business
Larry Ellison and David Ellison in 2013
Larry Ellison, one of the richest men in the world, and his son David want to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. They'd like to use money from Saudi Arabia and two other petrostates to make that happen. (Photo by Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter)

Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter

Paramount's Larry and David Ellison might look to Middle East petrostates to help finance a deal for WBD. That's tricky.

Tech Insider : Politics, Business
President Donald Trump welcomes Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House, November 18, 2025
Donald Trump welcomed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia at the White House in November. Now bin Salman's country is reportedly backing Larry and David Ellisons' bid for Warner Bros. Discovery

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Apple's ICEBlock takedown shows how easily Washington can pull the plug on the internet

Tech Insider : Politics, Business
Split image of an ICE agent on the left and Attorney General Pam on the right
Attorney General Pam Bondi says she told Apple to take down an ICE-tracking app.

Scott Olson//Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A Saudi plane was delayed for nearly 4 hours after a passenger allegedly attacked a flight attendant and tried to open a cabin door

Tech Insider : Business, Economy, Travel
A Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner from Saudia
A Saudia Boeing 787.

Joan Valls/Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia's broken Hollywood dreams: Big ambitions clashed with delays, cost overruns, and political controversy

Tech Insider : Business
A TV with the Saudi Arabian flag glitching.
 

Getty; Rebecca Zisser/BI

Neom is a '50-plus-year plan,' says Saudi Arabia's finance minister

Tech Insider : Economy, Business
A conceptual image of the planned design for The Line in Saudi Arabia's Neom, shows a large mirrored facade extending out into the water from the desert.
The planned design for The Line in Neom.

Neom

Neom, Saudi Arabia's high-tech desert city, is heading for a dialed-down first stage as costs soar

Tech Insider
Neom infinity pool
Neom is scaling back its ambitious plans as costs swell.

Neom

Saudi Arabia's ruler used to be one of Trump's biggest fans. This time it's complicated.

Tech Insider : Politics
Saudi ruler Mohammed bin Salman shakes Donald Trump's hand.
Donald Trump cultivated connections with Saudi Arabia during his time as president and after he left office. Mohammed bin Salman seemed to welcome his brash style.

MANDEL NGAN / AFP

The Line — a key part of Saudi Arabia's Neom project — is a visionary but flawed concept, urban planners say

Tech Insider
A conceptual image of the planned design for The Line in Saudi Arabia's Neom, shows a large mirrored facade extending out into the water from the desert.
A rendering of The Line in Neom.

Neom

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